The Dragons of Paragon Read online

  “Give me your wand.” Nathaniel held out his hand expectantly.

  Raven stared up at him. “I- I should be the one—”

  “Stop!” Nathaniel growled and glared at her with such intensity Gabriel’s wings snapped out defensively. Nathaniel shot him a look of annoyance. “Give me your wand.”

  “Nathaniel, ease the hell up,” Colin chimed in.

  “No, I will not, as you say, ease up.” Nathaniel focused fully on Raven, raising his finger in her direction. “You are a woman who has been blessed with significant power. Will you choose to be like my late mother and insist on isolating yourself, never trusting anyone to truly help you? Will you, like her, put all your energy into amassing more and more magic because you think you are the only one capable of wielding it? Or will you wake the hell up and see that your gifts are just one of many tools available to aid you in a just and fair rule? That you are surrounded with those who love you and who can help, if only you will ask?”

  Raven lowered her head, ashamed. “Please help, Nathaniel,” she sobbed. “Save my sister.”

  “Give. Me. Your. Wand.”

  Raven placed it in his hand and sobbed anew at how pathetic she was.

  But Nathaniel bowed to her as if her actions were deserving of respect. He motioned to Sylas and Tobias. Together, they pried Avery from Xavier’s grip and physically forced him from the symbol. Nathaniel placed Avery’s wand on her sternum, then reached back to clasp Clarissa’s hand. “Ready?”

  Raven’s skin tingled. The three wands had forged a connection, charging the air between them. Nathaniel pointed Raven’s wand at Avery’s. Clarissa did the same with her own wand. The air crackled, growing thick and heady. Clarissa was clearly exhausted, but when Nathaniel nodded, she sang as clear and true as she had in the cradle, her voice charged with mystical energy. Raven’s heart ached at the pure love in every note.

  Nathaniel fed Clarissa energy, gritting his teeth as he poured magic into Avery’s body as well. As fast as his lips would move, he uttered the incantation. How long could he keep this up?

  “Breathe, Avery,” Raven murmured. “Please breathe.” It was taking too long. Maybe the spell wouldn’t work without her. She pounded her fists against the obsidian. “Oh goddess, it needs her blood!”

  Raven staggered to her feet and took Charlie from Leena, then nodded at Gabriel. He sprouted a talon and pricked her heel. One ruby drop fell toward Avery, into the spell.

  The entire symbol glowed with intense yellow light, but Avery didn’t move. Raven looked up when the sound of a fist hitting a jaw met her ears. Tobias’s body slapped the obsidian, and Xavier thrust past Sylas.

  He reached through the symbol and grabbed Avery’s head with both hands. “Breathe, wife! Your husband has spoken!” He kissed her hard then, in a way that Raven thought might leave a bruise if she were alive.

  Avery’s hand flinched. Raven blinked twice and held her breath. Her sister’s fingers moved again. And then that hand wrapped around the hilt of the sword at Xavier’s side. Avery’s sword. Fairy Killer.

  “Get the hell off me, Xavier. Goddess, you weigh a ton!” Avery barked.

  He pulled back, and she dragged the sword from his belt, hugging it to her chest. “And give me my damned sword.”

  Xavier’s smile lit up the room. “That’s my lassie.”

  Absently, Avery scratched her forearm through the sleeve of her tunic. She tried to sit up, but Tobias shot across the veranda to her and motioned for her to stay where she was. He checked her head and her hip. “Healed.”

  Raven pulled Avery into her arms. “Thank the goddess.”

  “I love you too, sister, but you’re choking me. Jesus. Battle’s over. Eleanor is dead. Get a grip.” She got to her feet and fitted her sword into the sheath she wore on her back.

  Raven gaped at her. “Avery, you were dead!”

  Avery glared at her, the corners of her mouth twitching as if she thought Raven might be joking.

  “You were just dead!” Raven pointed both hands at the symbol.

  Avery staggered back, and Xavier steadied her. Mouth gapping, she seemed to notice his tears for the first time.

  Clarissa’s hand clamped over her mouth.

  Clearly confused, Avery scratched the inside of her arm again. “God, it’s burning.” She rolled up her sleeve and stared down at a red-and-black symbol burned into the underside of her arm. It was the size of a quarter, a red spiral adorned with nine black dots. Her skin was seared around its edges as if she’d been branded. “Fuck, what in Hades is that?”

  Raven’s eyes widened, and she looked from Avery to Marius, who hadn’t moved from the throne. His torso was covered in similar markings. Some small and some large. They peeked out of the neck of his tunic.

  “I don’t know what it is,” Raven said.

  Tobias cleared his throat. “We can figure it out another day. Right now, we all need to eat and rest. Especially Avery and Marius.”

  Leena rocked Charlie as the baby started to fuss in her arms. “Well, you can’t go back to Aeaea. Asfolk will welcome all of you. I’m sure of it. And the healers there can help.”

  Raven nodded and took the baby from her as Gabriel swept her into his arms. Sylas went back for Marius. And soon, they were all in flight, traveling over a kingdom both saved and destroyed. Their kingdom.

  With Charlie in her arms, Raven realized the lore was partly true. Her daughter’s blood had held the power to create and to destroy. Eleanor had used it to become what she did. Crimson had thought her heart was powerful enough to make her immortal. Raven had used a single feather to take Eleanor’s immortality.

  “You’re not a monster,” she whispered to her daughter. “But you are powerful. We both are. And we both will learn to use that power to build, not to destroy. We’ll ask for help, and we’ll thank the people around us when we get it. I won’t become like Eleanor, sweetheart, and neither will you.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  No sooner had Colin landed at Asfolk with Leena in his arms than he discovered she was right about the high lord welcoming them in. They were met with applause and screams of freedom. All of them were surrounded by servants and whisked away to rooms across the palace.

  He was more than a little disappointed when his new mate was shuffled from his arms to her own room, but then, she was still a scribe, still dressed in the robes of her order, still with scrolls in the satchel at her hip. He allowed her to go without a fight on his part. He could be patient.

  Still, his thoughts lingered on her as hot water magically filled the claw-foot tub in his room and a banquet fit for an entire family of dragons was left on the table in his chambers. When he made to eat, he noticed he was covered in blood, most of it that of the soldiers he’d had to wound or kill to get to Leena. He decided the bath would come first.

  “Is the water too hot, sir?” a small elf asked, dipping his wrinkled finger in.

  Colin realized he was frowning at the tub, still standing fully dressed beside it. “Er, no. It’s perfect. I just would prefer to be alone now if you don’t mind.”

  The little man bounced on his toes. “Oh yes, of course. I’ll be right outside if you need anything.” He bowed low and backed away, the door to the suite clicking shut behind him.

  Colin stripped out of his clothing and melted into the bath. Blood swirled off his skin, turning the water red. All the time he’d spent training in the pits, all his schooling as a warrior, it hadn’t prepared him for the deaths. He’d had to kill his own people. Dragons. He’d had to end immortal lives.

  He sank under the water, running his fingers through his hair. When he broke the surface again, he pushed those dark thoughts aside. What he’d done yesterday had saved their world. Eleanor was gone. There would be true peace in Ouros.

  It was what he’d worked centuries for. Why he’d led the Defenders of the Goddess. And now it was done. He was a dragon without a purpose. But maybe that was okay. For now, for today, he would just be.


  After a scrub down and a long soak, he crawled from the tub and dressed in the clean tunic the elves had left for him. He thought he’d have to call the little man to service the bathroom, but when he turned back around, the tub had drained itself and stood sparkling clean, as if he’d never used it. Elven magic, he realized. Brilliant.

  He ate quickly and then stretched out on the massive bed, drifting off into a cool and rejuvenating darkness, at peace with his role in the war and accepting that that role was well and truly over.

  Colin was having a very enjoyable dream. It must be a dream, because it felt like Leena was there in his room, tucked into his side with her head resting on his chest. Everything was dark, but he could smell her—blackcurrant and wild primrose.

  His hand met bare skin, and he stroked along her spine until his fingers tangled in her hair. She shifted, and then a soft kiss pressed against his mouth.

  “I hope this is okay,” she whispered.

  He blinked his eyes open. “Lights,” he commanded. “Dim.” The elven magic ignited two of the sconces on the wall, filling the room with a soft, warm glow.

  “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

  “Are you real?” he asked. “Or am I dreaming?”

  She laughed, one eyebrow arching with her smile. “Yes, I’m real. I can’t get any more real than this.” She glanced down at herself, rolling enough that he could make out the curve of one deliciously full breast.

  He licked his lips, his inner dragon waking and taking a good stretch. Beneath the covers, his body was ready for her. He was always ready for her. His mouth went dry.

  “Turns out my Quanling is here, at the palace, along with the rest of the scribes. She was called in to help in the infirmary when a number of archers were burned in the eruption. I told her everything that happened and about my choice to be your mate.”

  “I know that had to be hard for you.”

  “Actually, Marjory made it easy. She said she could see the attraction between us immediately. Something about the carriage ride and being able to cut the sexual tension with a knife. She wasn’t surprised, only disappointed she’d have to find someone else to take her position before she retires.”

  “I always liked Marjory.”

  “So… I returned my quill and scrolls, which means I am currently homeless with no means to support myself.” She smiled as if the idea wasn’t as harrowing as it sounded.

  “That makes two of us. With the war won, I don’t even have a job. The Defenders of the Goddess has no further need to exist, and with Gabriel and Raven ruling, I don’t have an official role in the new kingdom, nor do I expect one.”

  “I guess that leaves us with each other.”

  He inhaled deeply and reached up to cradle her face, just inches from his. “That’s enough for me.”

  “Me too.”

  “Say you’re mine, Leena.” His throat felt raw, and the words came out all grit and cinder.

  “I’m yours, Colin. Always.” Her warm breath caressed his lips, sending tiny shivers along his skin. His dragon was practically panting for her.

  He tried to shift her under him, but she pressed him back against the mattress and straddled him just behind his erect cock. “I’ve already tasted what it’s like to have you over me. I think I’ll try something new.”

  She took his cock in her hand and stroked him hard from balls to tip, twisting her hand over the slick head before plunging her tight grip to the base again.

  “Goddess, Leena, you’re going to make me come before we’ve even begun.” He reached toward her breast, but she leaned back, just out of his reach.

  “Watch. Don’t touch.” She brushed his hand away. “I read about this in a scroll.”

  “Oh?” He grinned. Okay, if she wanted to play it that way, he’d be accommodating. He threaded his fingers behind his head and leaned against the pillow.

  Leena stroked his cock again, but this time, she rose higher on her knees, her free hand feeling along her stomach to the apex of her thighs. A rush of sensation flowed through him when he saw her touch herself there, her finger circling before dipping inside.

  He watched her, his heart pounding, his dragon’s need to claim intense. “Leena.”

  Eyes locked on to his, she lowered her head and sucked him deep into her mouth. Pure ecstasy. He closed his eyes, the sharp edge of desire whipping his dragon into a frenzy. His mating trill rumbled out of his chest, loud enough he was afraid the servants outside the door could hear it.

  “Leena, by the Mountain, let me in you. I need to be inside you. Please.”

  “Your wish is my command, my mate.” She positioned him at her opening and came down hard, taking him at once inside her slick heat. He sat up, his wings flaring. His mating instinct drove him deeper into her, and he wrapped her in his embrace, claiming her mouth with his.

  Her fingers teased along the base of his wings, stroking the webbing. The pleasure was equally exquisite and unbearable. He held her face in his hands.

  “Colin…”

  “Mine!” He thrust hard and deep.

  She made a sound between a moan and a scream and tipped her head back, her mouth open, panting.

  “Mine.”

  “Yours,” she said. “I’m all yours.”

  In his arms, she arched, breathless. He unleashed himself, thrusting into her in a wild frenzy until her body clenched around his cock, her inner muscles milking him. His own release followed hers, filling her, pumping into her.

  It was a long time before he was able to come back into himself from whatever heaven they’d escaped to together. Still coupled, he nuzzled the side of her face. “I love you, Leena. Thank you for choosing me.”

  “I didn’t.”

  Confused, he pulled back to get a better look at her.

  “I didn’t choose you. I chose me.” She took his face in her hands, her eyes filling with tears. “Once I’d experienced having a life of my own, I knew I’d never be content recording the lives of others. And I wanted you. I wanted you so much.”

  “There’s more I want to show you. You have so much more living to do.”

  She slid her nose along his before whispering in his ear. “Then show me.”

  He flipped her onto her back, already growing hard for her again, and landed with his elbows on either side of her head. “First, there is this bed.”

  She grinned up at him. “Haven’t I experienced this already?”

  “Yes, once. But we’ve never tested how many times I can pleasure you in a row in it.”

  “Oh,” she said breathlessly. “It’s a worthy question that needs an answer.”

  He dropped his lips to her neck. “Then let’s find out.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  After a day and night of nothing but sleeping, making love, and enjoying the hospitality of the elves from the comfort of their suite of rooms, Raven and Gabriel were invited to dine with the high lord and Queen Penelope to discuss the future of Paragon. Raven’s bones still ached from her confrontation with Eleanor. All she could think about was how much magic and manpower it would take to rebuild the palace and repair the kingdom after Eleanor’s path of destruction. But being king and queen of Paragon meant taking political relationships seriously. So, she left Charlie with Avery and Xavier, dressed in the gown the palace staff provided, and arrived in Niall’s private dining room with a poise she had to dredge up from the deepest part of herself.

  “I hope you know the kingdom of Rogos is supportive of your rule,” High Lord Niall said to Gabriel. “You were chosen by the goddess herself. We want to see you succeed.”

  “I am relieved to hear that,” Gabriel said. “A strong and independent Rogos and Darnuith are important to us and the ongoing peace in Ouros. We consider you a valuable ally.” He smoothed the front of his tunic.

  Niall frowned. “I wonder, though, if Marius’s resurrection poses a problem for both our kingdoms. He is the rightful heir based on Paragonian tradition, and to be frank, he never had a soft
spot for Rogos.”

  At his side, Queen Penelope scoffed. “No Paragonian ever had a soft spot for Darnuith. We are quite simply in uncharted territory. Relations between our two kingdoms must start anew.”

  Raven cleared her throat. “Then you must be excited to have one of your own on the Paragonian throne.”

  Queen Penelope gave her a quizzical look. “You may be a witch, but you are not a citizen of Darnuith.”

  “Medea was mated to Tavyss. It is Tavyss who appears at the center of Gabriel’s family crest. That crest was designed by her, a past queen of Darnuith. While it has been centuries since your people and his have been allies, you do celebrate a shared history, and my sisters and I descend from her sister Circe. We are Medea’s only living family, and I have nothing but warmth in my heart for the kingdom of my ancestors.”

  Queen Penelope studied her carefully. The air around Raven thickened. She could feel the queen’s magic licking her, testing her. Tendrils of it swept around her ankles. Rude. She stared at Penelope, allowing a hint of the power she’d taken from the golden grimoire to show in her eyes.

  “Keep your magic to yourself, please, unless you’d like me to probe you in return,” Raven said.

  Queen Penelope blinked, growing flustered, and looked away. The feel of her magic was gone. Raven was too tired and hungry to dwell on the witch’s assessment of her. It had been less than forty-eight hours since she’d brought about Eleanor’s end. She wasn’t ready for another battle and certainly wasn’t inciting one.

  Gabriel leaned back in his chair and wisely changed the subject. “Has Marius spoken since we arrived here?”

  Niall rubbed his chin. “I fear not. Our best healers are working with him, and I am told he has taken food and drink. But so far, he does not speak and spends his hours staring aimlessly.”

  “Then I think we can safely say that as of now he isn’t fit to rule. But should he challenge me for the throne in the future, I promise you, Raven and I will do what is best for Ouros. As you’ve pointed out, the goddess of the mountain herself placed these crowns upon our heads.” He motioned to the matching emerald crowns they were wearing. The green stones put off their own light, imbued with the magic of the mountain. “Leave Marius to me.”